Atlanta is a key city when it comes to hosting conventions and trade shows due to the following reasons: the fact that it serves as the main business center in the Southeast, good airline connectivity via Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (which is the busiest airport in the world when measured by number of passengers using it), good hotel capacity, and a wide variety of business interests.
An Atlanta Georgia World Congress Center booth rental covers exhibiting at one of the largest convention campuses in the U.S., over 1.5 million square feet of exhibit space across three connected buildings, plus 3.9 million square feet of total campus space including Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Centennial Olympic Park. Costs scale with booth size just as at any major U.S. venue, and Atlanta’s downtown location means booking hotels and freight early is especially important during the city’s busiest convention months.
This Atlanta Georgia World Congress Center booth rental guide covers everything trade show exhibitors need to know about the Georgia World Congress Center: its building layout and hall specifications, logistics, exhibit design strategy for the Atlanta market, hotels, and how to maximize your investment in a GWCC show.
Related: Top Trade Shows in Los Angeles in 2026: The Complete Exhibitor Guide
Venue Overview: Georgia World Congress Center
| Venue Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) |
| Address | 285 Andrew Young International Blvd NW, Atlanta, GA 30313 |
| Buildings | Building A, Building B, Building C, Building D |
| Total Space | 3.9 million sq ft (total campus including Omni Hotel) |
| Exhibition Hall Space | 1 million+ sq ft across halls |
| Meeting Rooms | 100+ meeting rooms |
| Nearest Airport | Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL): 9 miles |
| MARTA Access | World Congress Center (MARTA Bus) / Vine City Station (Rail): 0.5 mi |
Georgia World Congress Center Exhibit Rental: Nationwide Booth Design Specialists at purexhibits.com
What the Georgia World Congress Center Offers Exhibitors
Any complete Georgia World Congress Center exhibitor guide should start with scale, since it’s the venue’s defining feature:
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1.5+ million square feet of exhibit space, one of the largest totals of any convention facility in the country.
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3.9 million square feet of total campus space, including Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Centennial Olympic Park, and the on-site Signia by Hilton Atlanta.
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Column-free, flexible halls designed for oversized booths, complex rigging, and uninterrupted sightlines across long spans of floor.
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Downtown Atlanta location, walkable to hotels, restaurants, and MARTA rail access, genuinely convenient compared to many suburban convention centers.
GWCC Building Layout: Buildings A, B, C, and D
The Georgia World Congress Center comprises of four buildings that have different features and exhibit halls. The building plan plays a very important role in the decision making process for choosing the space. It is important to know for any exhibitor who plans to set up his/her exhibit at the Atlanta convention center that the building and exhibit hall for your show should be identified prior to the event because there can be significant differences between them.
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Building A: Original GWCC facility. Exhibition halls spread on two levels. Hall A1 is the largest individual hall of the GWCC, which is widely used for major exhibitions. Well-developed rigging infrastructure for sign hanging.
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Building B: Expansion of the GWCC facility that connects with Building A. Exhibition halls and meeting rooms. Good ceiling heights for high exhibit structures.
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Building C: Expansion of the GWCC campus. Exhibition halls and ballrooms. The Grand Hall C is one of the most important ballrooms in the GWCC.
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Building D: The newest building of the GWCC, located near the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Modern exhibition halls and meeting rooms. Excellent connection with the stadium campus for events taking place in both venues at once.
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Centennial Olympic Park: The park adjacent to the GWCC facility provides the space for outdoor events like big receptions, demonstrations of new products, and special events.
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Interior connections: All buildings are interconnected with indoor walkways and concourses for events that can be arranged in several buildings.
Exhibit Design Strategy for Atlanta Trade Shows
The audience for the trade shows in Atlanta is reflective of the fact that Atlanta is the economic center of the Southeastern part of the United States, and hence its audience is one that is commercially and growth oriented and includes industries such as healthcare, logistics, technology, retail, hospitality, and food and beverages. Many exhibitors choose our 30×40 trade show exhibit rentals for a professional footprint without the cost of buying.
Reflect Atlanta’s Business Energy
Atlanta is an energetic and aspiring city, characterized by a strong presence of Fortune 500 companies and startups. The business climate in Atlanta favors businesses that are growing, innovating, and producing results. Booth design that focuses on momentum, with examples of customers’ success stories, growth figures, innovation and market expansion appeals to such audience.
Create a Welcoming Booth Environment
The Southern hospitality element of Atlanta’s business culture means that warmth and genuine welcome in your booth staff and physical environment have above-average impact. A welcoming booth design with adequate seating for conversation, hospitality touches (refreshments where permitted), and approachable staff positioning creates a social environment that extends conversations and deepens engagement.
Also Read: Top Automotive & Trucking Trade Shows in the USA in 2026
Size Your Exhibit for the GWCC’s Scale
The exhibition halls of GWCC have a million square feet space and are some of the biggest in the nation. In an environment of this scale, smaller booths may become invisible. It is advisable to consider having hanging signage, taller booth structures, and graphics with bright contrasting colors to ensure visibility even when seen from far. In Atlanta’s biggest halls, it is equally important to be visible from 60+ feet away.
Explore our trade show display rental guide for exhibit configurations optimized for large-format convention halls like GWCC’s Buildings A and B, where tall structures and overhead visibility are essential.
Plan Your Atlanta GWCC Exhibit: Nationwide Exhibit Rental & Design at purexhibits.com
GWCC Logistics for Exhibitors
It is very easy to manage logistics at the Georgia World Congress Center, and this is because it is one of the easiest to access logistics-wise, due to its location in downtown Atlanta, interstates leading directly to it, and multiple loading dock spots available in four buildings. A few practical details worth confirming before you finalize your GWCC exhibit rental:
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Official contractor: Various GSCs serve different shows at GWCC. Freeman, GES, etc. run the events. Please refer to the exhibitor manual for the particular event you will attend.
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Advance warehouse: Send shipments to the advance warehouse to avoid drayage charges and delivery prior to move-in dates. Advance warehouse locations differ for different shows.
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Loading docks: Several loading docks in all four buildings. Direct I-75/I-85 connections make logistics for truck freight less challenging than in downtown urban areas.
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Drayage: Drayage charges at GWCC are reasonable when compared to national averages. Please plan for 25%-40% of exhibit cost for drayage of trade show exhibits.
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Union labor: Georgia is a “right to work” state. GWCC’s labor requirements are not as stringent as union-dominated locations. Please refer to the particular labor regulations for the particular event in the exhibitor manual.
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Internet: Dedicated wired internet service should be ordered to support booth demonstrations. Venue WiFi will not suffice for demonstrations in big shows.
Hotels Near the Georgia World Congress Center
| Hotel | Distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center | Connected via skywalk | Directly connected to GWCC, most convenient |
| Signia by Hilton Atlanta | On campus | GWCC campus hotel, opened 2023 |
| Marriott Marquis Atlanta | 0.3 miles | Landmark Atlanta convention hotel |
| Westin Peachtree Plaza | 0.4 miles | Iconic Atlanta hotel, popular convention property |
| Embassy Suites Atlanta Downtown | 0.3 miles | Suites, good for extended convention stays |
Choosing from among cost-saving methods that can be applied to GWCC such as advance ordering of contractors, sizing of booth and renting of exhibits instead of buying them will ensure you save money at your Atlanta show.
Request a Free Georgia World Congress Center Exhibit Design Consultation at purexhibits.com
What an Atlanta Booth Rental Actually Costs
| Booth size | Typical full-service rental cost |
|---|---|
| 10×10 inline | Low five figures |
| 10×20 inline | Mid five figures |
| 20×20 island/peninsula | High five figures to low six figures |
| 30×30+ island | Low-to-mid six figures |
Exhibit Rental Atlanta vs. Custom Build
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Rent if you’re exhibiting at the GWCC for the first time, testing whether a specific Atlanta show is worth repeating, or need a different footprint than your usual booth size.
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Buy custom if you’re committed to returning to Atlanta Market, MODEX, or another recurring GWCC show annually for multiple years; the upfront investment amortizes across a genuinely repeatable show calendar.
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Modular rental suits companies building out a growing Southeast show presence without full ownership commitment yet.
Common Mistakes First-Time GWCC Exhibitors Make
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Underestimating the campus’s scale. Confirm your exact building and hall early; walking distances and dock access vary significantly across a 3.9-million-square-foot campus.
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Booking hotels late. Atlanta’s largest shows fill nearby downtown inventory quickly.
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Designing a booth too small for GWCC’s column-free halls. A modest Atlanta convention center trade show booth can get visually lost in halls built for oversized displays; bold graphics and vertical elements tend to perform better here than at smaller regional venues.
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Skipping rigging approval for hanging signage, which needs advance sign-off given the venue’s scale.
Conclusion
An Atlanta Georgia World Congress Center booth rental succeeds or struggles based on how well you plan for the venue’s sheer scale, confirming your exact building and hall, booking downtown hotels early, and designing a booth bold enough to hold its own in some of the largest column-free exhibit halls in the country. Get those fundamentals right, and the GWCC’s genuine flexibility and downtown convenience become real advantages rather than logistics headaches.
Pure Exhibits designs and builds booths sized and engineered specifically for large-scale venues like the GWCC, with logistics planned around Atlanta’s labor and freight realities from the start. Talk to Pure Exhibits about your next Georgia World Congress Center booth rental.
Let’s Build Something Extraordinary
Share your event details and we’ll craft a custom booth solution designed to captivate your audience and maximize your ROI.
Atlanta Georgia World Congress Center Booth Rental: Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Georgia World Congress Center?
The Georgia World Congress Center is located at 285 Andrew Young International Blvd NW, Atlanta, GA 30313, in downtown Atlanta. It is adjacent to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, State Farm Arena, and Centennial Olympic Park, and approximately 9 miles north of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).
How large is the Georgia World Congress Center?
The GWCC campus spans approximately 3.9 million square feet of total space, including the Omni Hotel, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and all convention buildings. The exhibition halls across Buildings A, B, C, and D total over 1 million square feet of exhibition space, making GWCC one of the largest convention complexes in the United States. Our 10×20 booth rentals cover every footprint from inline to island.
What major events are held at the Georgia World Congress Center?
GWCC hosts a wide range of major events including the National Restaurant Association Show (Atlanta edition), healthcare and medical conferences, cybersecurity shows, retail industry events, energy and utilities conferences, food and beverage trade shows, consumer shows, and major association annual meetings. Atlanta’s Super Bowl hosting (2019) and political convention hosting history also demonstrate GWCC’s large-scale event capability.
How do I get to the Georgia World Congress Center?
By MARTA: The Vine City and Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center MARTA stations (Blue/Green lines) are 0.3–0.5 miles from the GWCC. From Hartsfield-Jackson Airport: take MARTA Red or Gold line to downtown Atlanta (approximately 30 minutes). By car: I-75/I-85 (Downtown Connector) has direct exits to the GWCC. By rideshare: drop-off at designated rideshare zones around the GWCC campus.
What is the Omni Atlanta Hotel’s connection to GWCC?
The Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center is directly connected to the Georgia World Congress Center via enclosed skyway, making it the most convenient hotel for GWCC exhibitors and attendees. The CNN Center food court and shopping area adjacent to the hotel is also connected to GWCC, providing convenient dining options without leaving the climate-controlled campus.
Who handles drayage at the Georgia World Congress Center?
Drayage at GWCC events depends on the official GSC for each event. Freeman, GES, and others manage material handling at GWCC events. All in-venue freight movement must go through the official GSC; exhibitors cannot use personal vehicles or unauthorized labor for floor freight. Georgia’s right-to-work status provides more labor flexibility than union-heavy markets for general exhibit setup.
What is the weather in Atlanta during major trade show seasons?
Atlanta’s primary convention season runs September through May. Spring (March–May) and fall (September–November) offer mild, pleasant weather (60–78°F) ideal for conventions. Summers (June–August) are hot and humid (85–95°F). Atlanta occasionally experiences ice storms in January and February that can disrupt travel, a factor for events scheduled in winter months. Overall, Atlanta’s climate is more moderate than northern cities and more comfortable for trade show travel than Deep South venues in summer.
Are there union labor requirements at the Georgia World Congress Center?
Georgia is a right-to-work state, providing more labor flexibility than strongly unionized convention markets. Exhibitor employees can typically perform more setup tasks without contractor labor than in Chicago or San Francisco. However, specific labor rules vary by event and GSC; review the labor jurisdiction document in your event’s exhibitor manual for GWCC-specific guidance.
What is the closest airport to the Georgia World Congress Center?
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is approximately 9 miles south of the GWCC. ATL is the world’s busiest airport by passenger volume, with direct flight connections to virtually every major US city. Flight costs to Atlanta are typically lower than coastal hub airports, making Atlanta one of the more cost-effective major convention cities for attendee and exhibitor travel.
What is Building D at the Georgia World Congress Center?
Building D is the newest addition to the GWCC campus, located adjacent to Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It offers modern exhibition halls, meeting rooms, and a direct connection to the stadium campus. Events that use both Building D and Mercedes-Benz Stadium simultaneously can create unique show configurations combining stadium-scale general sessions with convention-center-scale exhibition space.
What exhibit sizes work best at the Georgia World Congress Center?
GWCC’s large halls accommodate all booth sizes. For national shows in Buildings A and B (the primary large exhibition halls), 20×20 or larger island configurations are common for mid-to-large exhibitors. Inline 10×20 booths work well for targeted product categories. GWCC’s high ceiling clearance makes overhead hanging signs essential for larger exhibits; they dramatically improve findability across the large hall floor.
What dining and entertainment options are near the GWCC?
The Omni Atlanta’s CNN Center food court provides convenient dining within the GWCC campus. The Castleberry Hill arts district (0.5 miles) has restaurants and galleries. The Georgia Aquarium, National Center for Civil and Human Rights, and World of Coca-Cola are all within a 0.3-mile walk on the Centennial Olympic Park campus. Downtown Atlanta’s MARTA connectivity opens the entire city for after-hours networking.
How do I order electrical for my GWCC booth?
Order electrical service through the official GSC’s online exhibitor services portal. Specify exact amperage requirements and outlet locations on your booth footprint. Order during the advance period (typically 3–4 weeks before setup) for advance pricing rates. Budget $300–$2,000 for electrical at GWCC depending on booth size and power requirements.
Can the GWCC accommodate outdoor events?
Yes, Centennial Olympic Park, immediately adjacent to the GWCC, provides world-class outdoor event space used for outdoor receptions, concerts, and large-scale activation events. The park can accommodate thousands of attendees and has become a distinctive feature of Atlanta’s convention and event landscape. Permits for Centennial Olympic Park events are managed through the park authority; coordinate through your event organizer.
Where can I rent a trade show exhibit for a Georgia World Congress Center event?
Pure Exhibits provides nationwide exhibit rental and custom design for events at the Georgia World Congress Center and other Atlanta venues. We provide custom booth design, professional graphics, and complete logistics coordination for Atlanta shows. Contact us 8–12 weeks before your GWCC event for design consultation and a custom rental quote. On a tight timeline, our last-minute trade show booth rentals can turn a booth around fast.
